Retaking courses to raise GPA

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Morguean

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I have taken all I need for a BS in human biology, but I have decided to stay in school two more semesters so that I can retake a few classes, take some new ones, and get a chemistry minor. My gpa is not high enough to get into MD schools and probably many DO schools. I got a 2.1 my freshman year and then did well the last 3 years at a different school. There were serious issues with my family during my first year and my head wasn't in school. I am going to take a few upper level hum bio and chem courses, but my gpa won' t change very much if I don't retake some. The worst grades I have are:

Chemistry 1: C
Anatomy & Physiology: BC
Calculus 2: D
Intro to Psych: BC
Biochemistry: C

The first 4 were from my freshman year. I could retake Chem, A&P, and Psych and get A's without difficulty. I think it would be best to just leave Calculus and I'm not sure about biochem. What is your opinion on this? Is it silly to go back and retake these?

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Keep in mind that on your application all retakes and originals are counted towards your total GPA. Retaking classes with D's or F's would be helpful but even if you ace Biochemistry the second time its not going to change your GPA too much. If you could take a few upper levels and then just retake the D's and F's that would probably work out best.
 
if you want a true grade replacement, you need to go to DO schools. they will take your most current attempt at the course as long as the course descriptions and credit hours are the same.

What is your current cGPA? sGPA?
 
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I always recommend retaking every F/D/C science coursework.


I have taken all I need for a BS in human biology, but I have decided to stay in school two more semesters so that I can retake a few classes, take some new ones, and get a chemistry minor. My gpa is not high enough to get into MD schools and probably many DO schools. I got a 2.1 my freshman year and then did well the last 3 years at a different school. There were serious issues with my family during my first year and my head wasn't in school. I am going to take a few upper level hum bio and chem courses, but my gpa won' t change very much if I don't retake some. The worst grades I have are:

Chemistry 1: C
Anatomy & Physiology: BC
Calculus 2: D
Intro to Psych: BC
Biochemistry: C

The first 4 were from my freshman year. I could retake Chem, A&P, and Psych and get A's without difficulty. I think it would be best to just leave Calculus and I'm not sure about biochem. What is your opinion on this? Is it silly to go back and retake these?
 
Apply DO. I'm worried that you can't bring your GPA up enough. Even if your school does grade replacement, AMCAS won't.
 
Apply DO. I'm worried that you can't bring your GPA up enough. Even if your school does grade replacement, AMCAS won't.

How do you know I can't bring my gpa up enough if I haven't said what my gpa is?
 
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if you want a true grade replacement, you need to go to DO schools. they will take your most current attempt at the course as long as the course descriptions and credit hours are the same.

What is your current cGPA? sGPA?

Both are 3.2.
 
A 3.2 is not competitive enough for MD schools. I strongly suggest retaking any science courses that are below a B- and applying DO next cycle.
 
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How do you know I can't bring my gpa up enough if I haven't said what my gpa is?
I can estimate if you got D's C's in introductory level math/science courses. I assumed you were a freshman but maybe you are a sophomore.

In MD, you get a D in a class, retake to get an A... That averages out to 2.5 GPA for that class... That is assuming you get an A second time around. If you get a C and then an A, that's still a 3.0 average. You have a very small chance to get in with a 3.2 but realistically a 3.5+, or to be competitive a 3.7+
 
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